Remember When

-
Went to a 50th birthday party over the weekend.

J.C. is nearly there.

Had a great time seeing old friends...

...and I mean old friends.

The kid who had the party was at my 5th birthday party...so the type of party has changed a little bit.

Just a little bit.

We went from birthday cake and ice cream to wild beer-filled parties to...

...the party on Saturday night.

I had a few beers.

Something I rarely do.

We played Family Feud.

(And I let my buddy's sister win because I'm a nice guy).

At 9:20 I yawned mightily...not because the company wasn't great but because it felt like it was 2 in the morning.

We had cake.

And the stories started flowing...

"Remember when this idiot..."

All of the greatest hits came falling out of the closet.

"We were lucky we didn't get killed..."

We put a lot of those stories into the context of our parents and then our own children.

And the people we'd lost along the way.

It's strange, but people who were not in the room were definitely in the room.

We told stories about a buddy who struck a deer while test-driving a sports car.

We laughed about my brother Jeff doing about twenty different things.

We talked about John's Dad and my Dad.

We toasted one another...

...and we toasted all of those birthdays that have passed.

And it certainly occurred to me...

...we weren't just telling stories...

We were still living our lives.

I stopped yawning.

My beautiful wife (who was working a couple of long shifts back-to-back) called me:

"What're you doing? It's nearly 11 o'clock!"

"Laughing," I said.

Some of the talk was about what we're going to do when we stop working so hard.

I'd be okay with doing a lot of what we all did on Saturday night...

...old friends...a couple of drinks...

...and inviting friends who couldn't make it...

...right into the room with us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Suits

-
Like a lot of other people we got pulled into the series, ‘Suits’ on Netflix. I’ve never had much fun hanging around lawyers who have questioned me as a construction safety officer. I once testified in a case where the opposing lawyer started questioning me by going through my educational background. “So,” he said, racing to a crescendo, “You graduated from college with a degree in Communications-Journalism and suddenly, 30 years later, you’re a ‘safety expert.’” He actually made the quotation marks with his fingers. I just looked at him. “How does that happen?” He bellowed, sure that he was going to discredit me. “Well,” I said. “I knew I was overqualified to become a lawyer.” The courtroom erupted in laughter. Even the judge chuckled. The rest of his questions landed flat. So, I wasn’t all that keen on a show about lawyers, but ‘Suits’ is great. Meghan Markle became a princess because of the show, and she is very good in it (and a beautiful woman). Yet, there is so much more. The wri
Read more

My Buddy, Dave

-
Way back in 1997, I started working with a steel erection company out of Syracuse. I was coming straight from a long stint with a steel erector here in Buffalo so I knew my stuff when it came to steel erection safety rules. On day one, I met with the safety director and he was just getting started as a safety guy, but man, he certainly cared about the guys he worked with. Dave was a good man from the start. He’d say things like: “You’re so full of beans.” Just a down to earth, hardworking guy who became a fast friend. We drove all around New York State setting up jobs. I always let Dave drive so that I could rest. One fine day, way up North of Syracuse, we passed a state trooper.  I glanced at the speedometer. “You’re screwed,” I said, and seconds later, the lights came on. Dave was beside himself.  The cop stopped by the window, grabbed the license and registration and headed back to his vehicle. “Here’s the thing,” I said. “You’re pissed, but you’re such a good guy that I bet you tha
Read more

Mom & Ollie

-
Image
 Ollie Stadium is a mess. The heavy rains rendered the backyard a mud pit and even though we threw in the side yard, the Big O was looking for more, and we were both covered in mud. I had to take some steam out of him somehow so I suggested we go visit Grandma. Ollie hates the car, but he laid quietly as we made the trip. We even brought the football because there is plenty of room to play at Grandma’s. Mom opened the door and started laughing. I thought about the love she had for every single dog we ever had. Oliver was quick to give my Mom a kiss, and then he stood beside her. The love between Mom and Dogs is a mutual bond. Through the years, Mom would make breakfast for the dogs.  Fried eggs, toast, bacon… She would wrap Christmas gifts for them. “To Jeter, Love Santa,” she would write on the cards. They played with the big chicken that made a lot of noise. Mom tossed the football and Ollie brought it back to her. As the visit drew to a close I headed for the door.  “C’mon, Oliver,”
Read more